Lady of the flies
by Secret-Pass-Time
Summary: One of the boys has a secret, Rose's mother had dressed her as a boy to get her onto a plane with all boy's schools to have her evacuated sooner, however the plane crashes. What will the boys do when they discover her secret?
1. Chapter 1

made up scene as everyone is getting to know each others names! (I'm using the movie descriptions btw)

? Pov

"Sam, Eric, Sam, Eric..." The fat boy kept saying, I just sat and watched until his eyes focused on me through thick glasses

"What's your name?" My eyes went wide, I hadn't thought of this. See, they think I'm a boy. I'm dressed as one, my mother had dressed me like this to sneak me on the plane with the boys instead of waiting a week for the girls' schools plane. I decided quickly I didn't want to be the only girl here.

"Jonathan!" He nodded and tried to memorize it. The kid with the blond hair, the one that led the choir, Jack was it? Walked over to me.

"Jeez, nervous much?" I looked at my hands as he looked down at me. They were shaking. No wonder! I could still feel his glare so I looked up.

"What? What are you looking at!?" I meant to sound angry. I sounded scared. Dammit. He smirked then walked away. The kid with the conch stood up.

"We should all have a rest then try to figure out how to get home tomorrow." The little'uns murmured in displeasure and the rest of the boys simply nodded. The lay in the sand so I copied, uncomfortable as it was and pretended to fall asleep.

* * *

Day 1

This is the worst idea I have ever had. Perhaps I should just tell them I'm a girl. I have to wear long trousers, a bandage around my chest, a shirt and a jumper and a hat to top it all off! This is ridiculous! Even some of the boys had suggested I take off a few layers but every time, I'd say 'maybe'. No big incidents yet, I think I'm doing rather well. I mean some of them tease me for 'walking like a girl' but other than that...

* * *

Day 2

Today was the first incident. Nothing big though. One of the twins had ran over to me and taken my hat, letting everyone get a view of my long hair as it fell down my back. Needless to say, I got teased for that. Also, Ralph is trying to maintain order but somehow, I doubt it'll last very long. I really can't wait to be rescued.

* * *

Day 3

I'm not sure, but I think that Jack has figured it out. He keeps throwing me these looks. I look back a him but then he'll just look away and continue whatever he was doing before hand. He's looking at me now, I can feel it. I peer over at him, he's looking back at me. Please don't let him figure it out! Oh, no, he's walking towards me.

"Your going to end up fainting in this heat. You should take off your jacket and shirt. The rest of us have. Why didn't you do it already?" I shrug at him and he responds by whipping off my hat, letting my hair loose again. "Perhaps you should cut it." I shook my head and took my hat back, securing my hair. "Fine, just keep looking like a girl then." Oh, god, he knows.

* * *

Day 4

I waited for a while after everyone had fallen asleep before standing up, looking around and heading further down the beach, an area shielded by huge rocks and removed the boy's hat i was wearing and let my hair fall loose down my back once more. Then I undid the jacket and shirt then the thick bandages around my chest that my mother suggested I use to hide my...well...you know. Then I stepped out of my shoes and trousers and waded into the water until it reached Half way up my calf. I knelt down and smiled, perhaps this wouldn't be so bad... Then I heard a sinister giggle from the beach. I looked to the beach. Standing there, lazily leaning on a rock was Jack Merridew. We stayed like that, me staring at him with a horrified expression and him staring at me with an evil smirk. This won't end well...

I ran to the beach behind more rocks and clambered onto the sand, reaching out and grabbing the shirt, sucks to the bandage, and stood up.

"Well, you figured it out. Now what?" This time I sounded how I felt. Damn you Mr Merridew and damn your stupid smirk too!

"I'll make it a game for the other boys, like a hunt! I won't tell them which of them is a girl." I glared at him

"They won't believe you!"

"My choir will." he stated matter of factly

"Fine! I don't care! Do what you want!"

"Or..." He trailed it out "If you do everything I tell you, I won't tell them." I looked at him with a look of disgust

"I'd rather you tell them right away. Right this moment." He turned around abruptly and ran to the camp. I grabbed all my things and ran into the forest to the base of a mountain which I climbed, throwing my stuff over my shoulder for later use.

Well done, Rose! Not even a week here and you've already messed things up! Fabulous! I got close to the top when a little cave came into view so I climbed in and made my self comfortable in the sand on the floor of it and only now did I let my eyes fall shut.

* * *

Back at camp

The next morning, as the older boys woke, they already noticed one person was missing, and when Piggy confirmed it was Jonathan, Jack's smile made an appearance.

"Hey guys, I know why he went!" All eyes were on him.

"See, here's the thing, I was still awake and I noticed him get up during the night so I watched him walk to those rocks." He pointed down the beach at his evidence, "He took off his hat and his hair was down to here!" He pointed at his left hip as the boys eyes went wide. " Then he got undressed and jumped into the water and that's when I figured it out!" He paused to build suspense. "He's a girl! Not a boy!"

"Jack, don't be an idiot!" He swiveled round and glared at Ralph

"It's true! She went storming into the tree's when she found out I knew."

"You upset her!" One of the little'uns piped up

"So what if I did?!" Ralph spoke up.

"Look, if what your saying is true, go find her and bring her back." Jacks eyes were wide, disbelieving. "If we leave her, she'll never come back and she might starve. I'm the chief, now do it!" With a low growl, Jack stormed through the trees, grumbling under his breath. This was so stupid! She ran off! He'd have let her starve for being such an idiot. He scoured the island for what must have been hours, leaving the only mountain for last. It was easy to climb and very easy to hear the quiet sobbing coming from a little cave nearby. He smiled and shook his head. She's such a girl!

He climbed silently and peeked into the cave. She was asleep, sobbing in her sleep! It was laughable. He swung into the cave and towered over the tiny girl, and she really was tiny, and considered his options before leaning down and lifting her. He'd keep her asleep, it'd be far less annoying this way. He weighed her in his arms to see if she was light enough and once he was sure, he started trudging through the trees to the other boys.

Once there, he dropped to his knees and dropped her the few inches onto the sand. Ralph and Piggy watched with curiosity and a tad of humour.

"happy?" Jack growled out. Ralph put on the biggest, cheesiest fake smile he could and kept it there until Jack looked away.

"Should we wake her up?" Asked Piggy, still looking at the girl. He observed her, she was very pale and her hair was almost black. Her cheeks were flushed pink from crying. She was wearing a boys shirt which was obviously far too big for her, almost reaching her knees. There was a thin silver chain around one ankle with no charm on it.

"Yes. And get her name." Ralph replied and walked towards the other boys, watching as Piggy walked rather nervously towards the little girl laying in the sand. He stood there feeling timid and a little awkward, unsure how to wake her. His aunt used to shake his shoulder so he did this and watched her eyes snap open to reveal dark blue orbs, a grey outline surrounding the blue.

"Don't worry, s'only me. We know that you're a girl by the way..." She sat up quickly, subconsciously gripping her sleeves "we didn't want to leave you so you didn't get hurt. What's your name? Mine's Piggy I suppose. That's what everyone calls me now." She waited a moment before deciding he was trustworthy.

"Rose." He nodded and gave her a smile before holding a hand out to her and helping her up. He led her over to meeting Ralph was holding. She felt a little awkward and she couldn't quite walk properly, barefoot in the hot sand. When they took their seats, she couldn't help but notice Jack smirking at her.

"...does anyone else want to say anything?" Rose raised her hand and was handed the conch, she assumed this meant she could speak.

"How did I get back here? I certainly didn't walk, that's for sure!" Ralph's answer disturbed her beyond belief

"I sent Jack to come and fetch you. He carried you here." Her head whipped around to him.

"You! You carried me?! While I was asleep?! You...you...creep!" He held his hands up in mock defeat. She handed the conch to Piggy and for the second time, went storming down the beach, ignoring the loud whistle one of the boys let loose as a joke. She sat a few meters away, near the water, letting her feet get wet. It wasn't being carried that bothered her, it wasn't that she was asleep either, it was because it was him. They didn't even know each other but she already despised him. It was only a few moments before someone came up behind her.

"Just thought I'd let you know, Princess, we're sharing a shelter." Jack. Freaking. Jack.

"The hell do you mean?!" She leapt to her feet and gave her best angry look.

"Well, Ralph had us get into groups of six and we're the only two left over. Just you and me." He gave a cocky smile.

"I have no problem with that provided you stay on your side." She poked his bare chest with her finger. He gave one of those stupid smirks and tried to walk away.

"Hey! You don't get to just irritate me then leave! If you are trying to start a fight, stay and finish it!"

"I don't hit girls." He laughed at her outraged expression and promptly strode away. Dear God she was going to kill him! A few of the boys had watched the ordeal and were thrilled at the idea of having some entertainment. She noticed them looking and went back to her spot in the sand where the water caressed her feet. God she would kill that Jack! Stupid Choir boy...

A few hours of sulking later, Rose felt someone come up behind her. The presence was more timid this time, she turned her tear streaked face around to face Piggy.

"Umm, your and Jack's Shelter is built." She nodded and stood.

"Where is it?" He pointed in the direction of a smallish structure.

"Are you ok?" She nodded at Piggy.

"yes, I'm fine. Just I hoped he was joking."

"Sorry, no." She sighed and walked towards the structure and walked in, hiding her tear streaked face behind her thick hair, retaining what dignity she had left. Jack was already laying on his long black cloak and she noticed another two laying on the ground a little too near him for her comfort.

"I even got you something to use as a cover!" She wondered for a moment whether he was trying to make amends. Then crawled into the makeshift bed, turning away from him.

"Oh, come on! Cheer up! What's the matter?" Her breath was steady so she chanced a few words.

"Oh, what do you think? I was planning on staying a boy for a little longer, maybe fit in, keep my head down and get rescued before I had to worry about people finding out. But no! You had to follow me! You had to try to blackmail me! You had to volunteer to share a freaking shelter with me!" Her voice wobbled its way through her little speech and she had sat up, revealing the tear tracks that wound down her face. This was not what she wanted! Now he knew he had the power to make her cry. Brilliant! She took a deep breath and let it out as she lay down, facing away again, ignoring the chuckle she heard from behind her. Then she heard it again.

"What is so damn funny?!"

"Oh, nothing, just that fact that you were dressed as a boy and apparently enjoyed it so much you'd have liked it to last longer. Not the feminine type?"

"I didn't want to be the only girl here! And I'll have you know my wardrobe consists of only dresses and skirts!"

"Whatever! Just sayin'"

"Shut up and let me sleep!"

"Sure you don't want to cuddle into me for when you start crying again?" He sad it with smug sarcasm. She just stayed silent this time and let her eyes fall shut. Stupid choir boy...

* * *

The next morning, Rose woke up alone, thank goodness, She stretched her arms and became aware of her surroundings. On an island, with no adults, with roughly forty boys, including that one idiotic, smug, downright rude one called Jack. She felt rage bubble but she suppressed it, today, she was going to be happy, she was going to relax and enjoy herself. She took the black cloak off of her body and bundled it up and lay her head on it as a pillow. She relaxed herself and closed her eyes, smiling. Perhaps she'd stay her all day. The light from the sun filtered through the tiny gaps in the palm tree leaves and left long golden streaks across her face.

Just as she thought she might fall asleep, the voice she already despised filled her ears.

"Well, good morning princess, I brought you a gift!" Curious, she opened her eyes and crawled half blind towards him and eyed the object he held in one hand, her bag.

"I went back to the plane and found it for you." She looked up at his face as he handed it too her.

"Thanks. Oh, and by the way, never call me Princess again. Got it?" He chuckled at her then left.

She opened her bag and dug through it and found a skirt that her mother had created from her wedding dress, White with lace over the top, It was very long, a little too long with no underskirts and briefly considered wearing it. She put it back, no need to ruin something so lovely. She found a little dark blue dress with a grey ribbon around the waist and a pair of white gloves. She quickly put them on and used her brush to smooth out her hair. She almost closed the bag until she noticed another small bag within it. Her cosmetics were crushed inside along with a small mirror. It couldn't hurt, could it? She skipped foundation and applied some grey eye shadow on the outside corners of her eyes, then some black eye liner, mascara. She was pleased with the result. She picked up the familiar tube and opened it and slid out the ruby red lipstick. She stopped and wondered whether she should bother before deciding and applying it. She smiled at her reflection and tied her hair back with a little black ribbon and stepped out of the shelter.

She searched around for Jack and when she noticed him in the water with the other boys, she let out a sigh of relief and went to sit in the sand in the same spot she'd sat in last night, letting her legs sit in the water again. The kid with the conch, Ralph, came towards her.

"Why don't you go swimming too? Your legs are already wet."

"I can't swim. I never learned." It was the truth, her mother and father spent almost every day teaching her things they deemed important and swimming wasn't one of those things.

"Me and Jack could teach you." Again with that idiotic, imbecilic choir boy! Her first instinct was to refuse but then she considered how hilarious his face would be if she managed to kick him in the face or grab onto him in 'fear' and strangle him. But what would she wear to go in the water? There was no way she would go in naked and she hadn't brought any swim suits.

"Alright, you go get him and I'll go find something to wear." Makeup? ruined. Hair? ruined. Pretty outfit? ruined. This would be fun. She dashed back to the shelter and once again dug through her bag to confirm there were no swim suits. She thought for a moment before grabbing another long bandage she had put into her bag 'just in case' and removed her dress. She wrapped the bandage around her chest and simply wore her underwear. Next, she undid her hair and let it fall loose then marched out of the shelter and over to the two boys waiting for her, both smiling. One was an innocent, reassuring smile, the other was a cocky, idiotic one.

"Ok, have you ever been in deep water before?" Ralph asked her, she shook her head. "What's the deepest?" She suddenly felt nervous

"Only my bathtub." He nodded.

"Alright, we'll go slowly and when you feel scared, let us know." All three walked in sync into the water so it reached their ankles, then their knees. She was nervous and stopped abruptly.

"Already? You're not even waist high yet!" Jack was trying to embarrass her, she knew it. So she shrugged and started walking again, so did the boys despite Jacks guffawing. Thigh high, at her hips now, waist deep. She stopped again, shaking her head.

"I- I- I can't... no deeper." She was practically shaking. This was a bad idea, she thought, I regret this now.

"Come on, you were doing so well! Just a few more inches. Come on." Ralph took her hand. Ordinarily, she'd have snatched her hand back and slapped any boy who did that but right now? She was terrified. He led her in a little further so the water touched the bandages around her chest.

"That's deep enough!" No further, she thought to herself.

"Not yet, almost there." She ignored some comment Jack made and pulled against Ralph slightly but eventually let up and allowed herself to be taken further into the water.

"Alright." He said, stopping. "You might want to hold onto Jack, he'll swim a little further so your feet aren't touching the bottom. I'd take you but he's the stronger swimmer." Panic rushed through her. What if she drowned? If she couldn't touch the bottom, how would she stand?! Then the other part of the sentence clicked. Hold onto Jack? Entrust her life to him?! Was she mad?! These thoughts filled her mind long enough for her not to completely notice when Ralph let go of her hand and a longer arm grabbed her waist and another swept under her knees to lift her bridal style. When she came to her sences and realised what was going on, she grabbed onto Jack, no longer caring who he was, around the neck, digging her long nails in for good measure. They stood for a moment and then he pushed off the ground, her tummy filled with dreadfull butterflies and she almost screamed and the water reached her lips.

"Take me back! I want to get out of the water! I don't like this one bit! Take me back! Please!" She kept repeating it.

"Oh, calm yourself!" Her eyes snapped to the boy who was now unreasonably close.

"Who on earth do you think you are?" She was suddenly angry, she wanted to get away from her but common sense told her to hold on. He just shook his head, smiling and continued swimming.

Eventually, they got to Ralph.

"OK, instead of learning all the stupid stuff they teach you in lessons, let's just skip straight to the main thing." She was scared again, shivering. "now, we'll hold you up and teach you to float, OK?" She nodded rapidly. Jack let go of her legs and swivelled her round, much to her dismay, so he was holding her by her back with one arm. He and Ralph held her up to the surface. One of her arms was by her side, the other was around Jack's neck, nails digging in to the back of it. The two boys nodded at each other and lowered their hands, letting Rose float on her own for the very first time.

"You're doing it!" She cracked open one ayes that she had been squeezing shut and smiled. Her lesson didn't last much longer, the two boys had, however, taught her to float on her own. Jack swam her back to the shallow water, leaving Ralph to play in the water.

"I'm going to have bruises from how tight you were holding onto me." He smirked at her.

"Shut up."

"And nail prints from when you dug your nails in."

"Shut up."

"You were pretty scared, huh? Could feel you shaking."

"Shut up."

"Hey, Rose-" She cut him off

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! I'm sick of your constant talking. Why do you keep bugging me?" He just shrugged. She rolled her eyes.

"Is there any cleaner water to take a bath in?" May as well ask him.

"Yes, I'll take you. Would you like me to stay with you in case it's too deep for you?" She glared at him until he led her up the beach, stopping to let her grab some clothes, and through the forest to a little pond. He was about to walk away, fearing a slap, when she spoke up.

"Hey, could you wait nearby so I don't get lost?" He sat where he was, behind a bush, indicating he would. She removed her clothing, peeking at the bush to make sure nobody was peeking back at her then lowered herself in. This water was much warmer than the sea was and it only reached her hips. She could deal with that. Her bath didn't last long due to the rather irritating boy behind the bush who constantly reassured her that 'it was fine if she needed him to come hold her up' or 'help her wash her hair' all in an effort to make her feel as awkward as possible. She lowered the back of her head onto the water and scrubbed her hair with her fingernails once more before getting out, wringing her hair as she went. She didn't have any towels so she just threw her dress on and braided her hair, using the ribbon to secure it then shouted out.

"Done." Jack appeared from the forest and motioned for her to follow him. They had almost reached the beach when they heard the conch.

"another meeting." Jack stated. They jogged their way towards the rest of the boys just as Ralph started speaking.

"Look, if we don't all have set jobs and rules, this place is going to be chaos. Now, Jack and the choir have already volunteered to be hunters. What we need is someone to look after the little'uns." Everyone looked around until Jack was handed the conch.

"Rose should probably do that." Her eyes went wide.

"And why's that exactly?" She sneered at him.

"You're a girl." He said it as though it was obvious. Rage contorted her face.

"Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean I should stay here and look after the children! You know what?! I'll be a hunter! I'll show you! I can do whatever any of these boys can do!" All eyes were wide and on her after the outburst.

"Yeah? Alright, we're going hunting after this meeting. Better go get ready." He smiled, waiting for her to rethink what she said.

"Fine. I'll just be a few moments." She did her most girly walk away to the shelter.

Once there, she considered what she said. Go hunting? With the guys? And what to wear? **(why, yes, she is addicted to clothes! XD) **She pulled out a huge, black satin scarf and measured its length on herself from her hips, then satisfied, removed her dress and tied the scarf in a knot at the front, letting the excess material fall to her knees, then grabbed the too familiar bandage and wore it, making a mental note to just keep wearing this type of outfit after realising it was far more comfortable. She rummaged through her bag again and found what she was looking for. It was a fairly sized knife with a holder thingy which had a string attached. She tied the string loosely around her hips. Her hair was already braided, so she just tucked a few still damp strands behind her ear. Her silver anklet was still there and she toyed with the idea of removing it, deciding against it in the end. She was sure she'd loose it. She found a pair of long black gloves and tore the hands from them to make armbands, to protect her arms from the branches and any thorny bushes or plants but still allow her to hold her knife securely.

"You ready yet? We're going!" She smiled to herself as she walked out, pretending to ignore the boys' staring.

"Yes, I'm ready." Now, she decided she'd prove that she wasn't the little weak girl they all thought she was. She'd kill an animal, she'd carry it back, and when they asked who killed it, she'd proudly tell them and laugh at their disbelieving faces. She stalked into the forest, she felt the presence of a few boys behind her, Jack tried to get infront of her, trying to lead, until she let loose an animalistic growl like nothing she'd ever heard, it frightened her.

She crouched down low and almost crawled through the plants and creepers, until she allowed her more primitive, savage side take over, it was like someone else's body, her mind couldn't control it, her body was at war with her mind and it was winning. Soon she was dashing through the forest on all fours, then she was holding down a huge pig, then she was slitting it's throat with her knife. Her mind finally one the war and she looked down at her kill with guilt flowing over her. The boys were coming, out of breath. She hoisted the pig by the back legs onto her back, ignoring it's blood and cleaned her knife on her makeshift skirt and placed it in it's holder.

When the boys found her, they were a little terrified at what they found, her hair was messy and full of blood, her face and chest and hands were too and a large pig lay lazily over her shoulder. Jack's eyes went wide.

"And you thought I should baby-sit." She was smug despite the guilt of taking a life. "Moron" She started making her way back the way she came, the boys following her.

"How did you do that?" Jack was suddenly beside her.

"Do what? Run? Track the pig?"

"Everything. You were like a wild animal." She shrugged and felt the pigs head bump against her leg. "Begginers luck. Bet you can't do it tomorrow." It sounded as though he was reassuring himself that he was the best hunter, despite never actually having caught anything.

As they entered camp, Rose showed off her kill to Ralph.

"Hey, Ralph! Look what I got!" He stared at the pig in Rose's arms.

"Who killed it?"

"Me!"

"Really?! That's amazing!" She beamed. "But, I think you better go take a bath before you scare the little'uns." She looked confused for a moment before noticing the blood covering her. She nodded and handed the pig to Jack then headed towards the little pond in the forest. Once there, she cleaned her outfit and knife then took her time relaxing in the warm water, letting the blood get out from under her fingernails. She sighed and decided she'd better get back to get some of the meat. She put on her hunter outfit, including the knife and made her way back to where the boys were cooking the pig and sat down.

"Almost done?" Rose was starving

"Almost, you must be starving. Running round on all fours like a gorilla must be tiring." Jacks stupid joke got an eruption of laughter.

"Hey, at least I managed to catch something. All on my own! You and your 'hunters' all together haven't caught a thing!" Now Rose got an eruption of laughter. Jack sulked as Ralph passed pieces of meat around. They all ate almost in silence, other than the odd few words or questions on how she caught it. After eating, while it was still light, the younger boys played in the water with a few of the older ones, Rose sat with Piggy and Ralph while Jack sulked nearby. They sat there talking, laughing until Jack eventually stormed over and took a seat angrily in the sand.

"some of the kids won't admit they're tired. Why don't you go tuck them into bed, Rose?" He sneered

"I told you, I'm not great with kids and anyway, you're just mad that I killed before you. Just remember what you told me. Beginners luck." She concluded by standing up and going towards the shelter. She flopped down on the cloak, suddenly aware of how sore her limbs were. She wasn't all that tired so she took out her little mirror and examined her face. She was still her usual pale self. She sat up and took her eyeliner out. She liner her eyes thicker than she would do usually, also colouring her water line, leaving her eyes looking incredibly dark. She lay down and continued to look at herself. Her eyes seemed exhilarated, her lips trembling from the excitement of her day. Memories of her mother were pushed back, she managed to gain some sort of respect, she would wait until everyone was asleep before she had her cry. She barely noticed when Jack entered.

"Alright, what is it you're trying to do?" She looked up at him

"Whatever do you mean?" She feigned innocence

"Killing a pig instead of looking after the children?!"

"I was trying to prove that I'm not some weakling that you guys get to dump the children on!" Her eyes were filled with fire.

"Why on earth would you want to hunt?"

"To get rid of that smug grin on your face." Reminded of it, that smug grin made an appearance. She shook her head and lay down again, getting comfortable under the second cloak until Jack snatched it from her body.

"Big tough hunters do not need a blankey!" She snatched it back and curled up with it. "Fine, fine, whatever." She heard him lay down and silently hoped he'd fall asleep quickly, thoughts of her mother were flooding into her mind, the tears she shed as they parted at the airport, that last too-tight hug and kiss on the cheek. Tears fell silently. She wiped them away quickly and closed her eyes, hoping to perhaps fall asleep herself. One sob broke through, stifled slightly.

"Are you crying?!" Jacks voice was incredulous, like it was unreasonable.

"Shut up!" She lay so that most of her face was buried into the cloak.

"Why are you crying?"

"The truth? I'm stuck alone on an island full of boys and I miss my mother. Good enough reason?!" She was ranting. The next thing jack did surprised her. He lay a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to look at him.

"Let's call a truce, you teach me to hunt and I'll stop being cruel." She smiled a little and nodded "Oh, and if you don't tell anyone about this, I won't tell anyone I saw you cry." She was puzzled until he pulled her towards him so she was snug to his side with one of his arms around her. It was almost comfortable. He laughed when she lay an arm across his belly.

"Shut up." It was slurred as she fell asleep. More comfortable than she should have been next to that damned choir boy.

* * *

Their awakening was more awkward than anything either of them had ever experienced in their lives.

"Uh, guys. The little'uns want meat, none of the other hunters want to leave the water." Ralph was at the entry way, looking at them awkwardly. Their position had changed slightly. Both her legs were wrapped around one of his while he had turned towards her, circling her in his arms. They looked at each other in shock then quickly untangled themselves and composed themselves while they were at it

"We'll leave immediately." Rose sounded somewhat like a soldier. Jack whined.

"But we haven't had breakfast!"

"what do you think we're hunting for?" Jacks face lit up with sudden understanding. She checked her eyeliner in her mirror. It had smudged a little, she looked wild and rather dangerous. Or she would look dangerous when she was hunting. Ralph left as the two walked out of the shelter and towards the trees.

"This is a little early for my liking." Jack's voice had the same whining sound to it.

"Oh, cheer up!" She echoed his words from the night before. Once again, she crouched down low and sneaked forward, Jack copied exactly. She allowed the primal part of her mind to take over once again, He copied her movements but was unable to keep up when she went sprinting forward on all fours once again. By the time he found her, she was hoisting a pig over her shoulder again, this time she wasn't covered in blood.

"You've did it again!" He was amazed and insanely jealous.

"I'll teach you if you like." it was meant to be a joke.

"Let's start now." Her head whipped towards him and she nodded.

"Alright, well I just sort of crouch and then let my body do what it thinks instead of rationalising everything. Let your mind go blank and follow your instincts." She watched as he sunk close to the ground and shut his eyes. He breathed in deeply then rocketed off in some direction. She waited a few minutes but Jack came back empty handed.

"Almost had him! Almost!" He slammed his knife into a tree.

"Try again, you had it. That pig was just lucky." He tried again and shot off into a different direction. This time he was back after only a minute or two, smiling proudly with a pig slung over his shoulders.

"I knew you'd get it." She smiled. "C'mon, let's get some fruit as well." They trekked off, Jack still pleased with his kill. After a few moments they came across an abnormally high tree with bananas at the very top, there were no branches.

"Take this." She handed him her pig then removed one of her gloves and held it with both hands, wrapped around the tree and sort of walked up. Once at the top, she held herself up using one hand and used her other hand to grab a larch bunch of bananas. She slid down the tree with one hand, using the other to hold the bananas.

"Think this'll do?" he nodded and she took her pig back and they walked back to the little camp they had set up.

"Look what we've got!" Jack shouted out, getting everyone's attention. "Two pigs! And a bunch of bananas!" The younger kids cheered and the older ones looked like they may eat the pigs raw and devour even the bananas skins. Apparently they were hungry.

"You caught two this time Rose?" Ralph.

"No, I caught this one, Jack caught that one." He nodded and led them over to the small fire they had started near the shelters. While Ralph and Piggy cooked, Jack and Rose **(Accidental titanic names...just now noticed! XD) **ignored the awkwardness and bathed together to get rid of the blood. They agreed to sit one at each side with eyes closed, however after a while, the awkwardness drifted away and they now simply sat a meter away from each other, casually speaking.

After a while, Jack got out while Rose closed her eyes, he got dressed and waited behind a wall of trees for her then they ran most of the way back.

The rest of the day was spent by them sitting, eating, walking along the beach, sitting again, eating again, pretending they still didn't like eachother, sitting again eating again then attending a meeting that ultimately accomplished nothing then sat again around the second fire they'd made near the camp. One by one, the boys left to sleep until her and Jack were the only ones left. Rose stared deep into the flames.

"Rose?" She lifted her eyes to look at Jack. "I- I- I'm going to bed, are you coming?" She felt sure he was going to say something else but he appeared to have changed him mind. She gave a nod and followed him to their shelter. She lay down first then he lay on his cloak and pulled her over to him again. This time her head lay on his bare chest and he had one arm around her, his fingers sprawled out over her almost bare back.

"How old are you Jack?" A stupid tiredness induced question.

"thirteen, how old are you?"

"Twelve."

"Why are we pretending to hate each other during the day?"

"Keeping up appearances. We're found all tangled up one morning and suddenly we're friends? It seems strange."

"You're worried they think we're together?"

"I guess..." She was worried about where this conversation was headed.

"So...what if we were? Hypothetically, of course." She shrugged and suddenly there was an awkward silence between them.

"I'm not sure to be honest."

"Well what if we...never mind."

"What? Just say it." She looked at him now.

"What if we did end up together? Would it be so bad?" She smiled and he copied.

"I don't suppose it would be so bad..." He sat up, still cradling her in one arm then used the other to touch her cheek then leaned in and kissed her forehead gently for only a second as she closed her eyes, her smile still remained. She opened her eyes and looked at him again.

"Perhaps we could try? If you like me that way that is. But...I...kinda...sorta...like you...like that." He spoke carefully, stumbling over unplanned out words, his cheeks going pink in the process and slowly turning red. She grinned at the sight.

"I like you too." It was only a whisper. "Should we tell everyone else do you think? Or keep it a secret?" He thought for a moment.

"It may be better if we kept it a secret. But if anyone asks, I'm not going to deny it." She nodded and they lay back down, this time Jack wrapped both arms securely around her waist.

"So, what are we now?" Rose's voice was timid.

"I'm not sure, I suppose we ought to be girlfriend and boyfriend?" She almost laughed at how awkward he sounded.

"What shall my mother think when she hears about this? Only three days on an island and I've already gone mad." He chuckled at her. They lay there, entangled in each others arms, wondering when and if Rose's mother would hear. Would it be soon? Would it be days, weeks, months? Years perhaps? Only time could tell.

* * *

Rose woke up the next morning to the sound of the conch, she could hear the lazy beat of Jack's heart under her through his chest. A little peek at his face confirmed he was asleep. The conch hadn't woken him up so the responsibility fell to her. She slowly moved up his body and lay a kiss on his jaw, near his earlobe then whispered his name in his ear. His eyes dragged open then he sat up.

"Ralph's calling a meeting." His face was abruptly angry.

"Who on earth does he think he is?"

"Let's just go then come back and sleep."

"I'd be delighted but he'll probably have us go hunt for him while he sits there with Piggy."

"That's the price we have to be for being such good hunters." They were on their feet now, fixing their clothing. Jack sighed, calming down a little until they got to where Ralph was standing on a rock.

"Now everyone listen up. I've called this meeting to say that a few of us aren't doing our jobs right. Those who are to collect water, you are supposed to do it twice daily with those coconut shells, but you haven't done it nearly enough. Piggy, you don't know everyones names yet and hunters, we need you to be up first and have food here for everyone to wake up to for breakfast. And another thing-" Ralph was cut off.

"Up first?! While you do what?! Sleep?! We have the most important job! I don't see you do anything! What gives you the right to be chief?! We bring the food, without us, you'd all die for starvation!" Jack screamed at him "I think we should have another vote! Who thinks I should be chief?!" One hand went up, Rose's. Jack was outraged. "Who want Ralph not to be chief?!" Again, only Rose raised her hand. "Who-?" The rage was too much for him and he stormed off into the Forest.

"Jack! We must stay together so we can be rescued!" Ralph called after him "Jack! Come back!" He was ignored.

"I'll go after him. Try to calm him down." Really, it wasn't that she wanted to calm him down, it was more that she didn't want him to leave, she didn't want to never see him again.

"No! He'll come back. I bet he won't last until night." She stared after him "Just give him time to calm down." She bit her lip and wondered if she should disobey Ralph and go after her 'boyfriend' but would that make things appear too obvious? And besides, Ralph was probably right. Jack would most likely be back before it was dark. Right? She made her way back to her shelter and examined the two little holes in the ground, covered by thick black cloaks, one from her body and one from Jack's. She lay in Jack's, lay her head where his usually lay, wishing for him to come back. Soon.

"Rose! What did I just say? You must go and get us food. We're hungry." Ralph was at the entrance.

"Send the other hunters. I'm not going today."

"But your the best."

"I'm having the day off. I refuse to do anything until Jack gets back." She glared at him. He was the one that drove Jack away.

"And why is that?We must all do our part."

"We brought you two pigs yesterday and a huge bundle of bananas. Today I'm having a rest." A look of realisation crossed Ralphs features.

"You like Jack, don't you?" She shot up.

"Yes! What of it?!"

"Nothing." Then he walked away. She let her torso drop, making a thud sound against the sand. She lay on her back on Jack's cloak, on the imprint of his body and closed her eyes.

It felt like she had only blinked but when she opened her eyes again, it was darked, she could hear only the older boys outside and there were tear tracks down her face again, and nobody next to her, holding her close. She was clinging desperately at the cloak, her face directed straight at the label. On the bottom of the label was Jack's name written in beautiful script. She ran her finger along it, tracing the letters. Was he back yet? Was he outside? She crawled to the opening and peered out. No. Not yet. She went back to Jacks cloak and closed her eyes again, not sleeping, just letting her mind go completely black. It worked for a while until Jack appeared in her mind again and one crystal tear fell onto the cloak. She wiped away the tears before they fell this time and finally made herself stop.

She stayed laying there for the rest of that day, all night until the next morning when Piggy tried to coax her out, telling her all about how hungry they all were.

"Is Jack back yet?" Piggy shook his head no.

"I think he's started his own tribe, a few of the boys have gone missing. I swear I've seen eyes watching us." Her eyes shot open and she was on her feet.

"You heard from him and you never told me?!" Piggy took a step back

"We didn't want to bother you. We assumed you were ill."

"Where is he?" She demanded.

"I don't think I should tell you. We need you Rose."

"Where. Is. Jack?" She was terrifieing, her eyes were like flames surrounded by thick eye liner.

"Ralph! Simon! Anyone! Help!" All at once, four boys pinned her down as she struggled against them.

"Listen. Jack's gone mad. He's completely lost it. I promise you. He isn't himself." Ralph was trying to calm her.

"It's your fault!"

"Why do you even care where he is?! You hate each other!"

"We do not! We make it look that way!" she was wild, like some sort of animal, thrashing against the boys.

"Why?" Her struggled got weaker and eventually, she was nothing but a sobbing child on the floor.

"He was helping me keep it together. Thats why he held me as I slept. We...we were together." The boys' eyebrows shot up at once. "Where is he? Please...please bring him back? Please?" She broke into sobs again.

"We can't." Ralph motioned for the boys to give her privacy, let her cry herself out.

This went on for days, she'd cry without Jack there to distract her. She wanted to go home and she wanted Jack to go with her. She wanted to wake up to his heartbeat, watch him slam his knife into a tree every time he missed a pig, feel his arms around her again. She didn't eat. Didn't sleep. Didn't leave her shelter, despite everyone constantly trying to coax her out.

It wasn't until two boys arrived at their camp, paint covering their face and bodies, that she crawled to the opening, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"Jack wants to invite you all to a feast tonight when it gets dark. Also, he said he wants Rose to come right now." She dashed from her shelter, now a little thinner and almost malnourished. You could see a hint of her ribs and the bones in her arms and her hip bones were prominent against her still pale skin. She stumbled on her way over.

"No! Absolutely not! I will not allow Jack to corrupt her mind."

"You get no choice Ralph! I'm going." She grabbed her bag and all three cloaks from her shelter. "and don't expect me back either." She followed the boys through the forest and to a huge rock, caves were scattered all over it and the ones nearest the bottom had doors made from huge palm tree leaves. She kept her eyes open, scanning every crevice, looking for Jack.

"He's waiting for you on the beach over there." One of the boys pointed over the rock at a glimpse of sand visible. She nodded and dropped her bag and all three cloaks at her feet, walking slowly, frightened her weakened legs might give out.

A moment of walking then ten seconds of sprinting to fall into Jack's arms.

"I didn't think you'd come." She buried her head in his bare chest, ignoring the blood and black paint smeared across it. "You seem thinner and...weaker. Haven't you been catching any animals?"

"Dunno. I stopped eating them anyway. And none of them would tell me where you were. They almost didn't let me come here today." He held her at a distance to see her face.

"I'd like you to listen before you tell me what you think, alright?" She nodded. "At the end of the feast, go back with them. Make it seem as though you hate me. Tonight I'll come for you, we'll live on the mountain. We won't be in either tribe." She paused a moment before nodding. He was about to lead her away but stopped and took her face in his right hand. She lay her hand on top of his. They remained that way for about a minute until he leaned in and kissed her for the first time on her lips. It was just a simple kiss, neither moved, they kept it innocent and very very sweet. When they broke apart, they were smiling at each other. Then they walked towards Jack's tribe.

She sat on her knees near a fire, watching the boys run around it, whooping and dancing and screaming. She watched Jack as he ran around it on all fours, looking more like some sort of wild cat than human. Piggy and Ralph arrived as the sky went black. Their gazes alternated between Jack and Rose then to the fire and repeated.

"You came." Jacks voice boomed from a rock he was standing on.

**Longest. Chapter. One. I. Have. Ever. Wrote.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**I should probably tell you now that it won't be as long as the last chapter.**

"You came." Jack's voice boomed from the rock he was standing on.

"To get Rose and try to convince you all to come back." Ralph tried to sound threatening.

"What's the rush? Didn't your parents tell you it was rude to leave too early?" Jack was teasing them, trying to have them stay. It wasn't working. Ralph glared at the savage before him. The only girl on the island sat near a huge fire, the light from the flames distorting her features, adding menace and a terrifying expression to an innocent face. She stared into the flames, the tiny purple flame, right in the centre dancing like a tiny ballerina.

"Don't play with my mind Jack, now come back with us." Ralph said it so defiantly that Jack leapt off the rock he was standing on and stalked towards Ralph, getting close enough that their chests were almost touching.

"What makes you think we're unhappy? This is where we want to be. Anyone who wants to go back with Fatty and his boyfriend can, but I will stay here." One, by one, almost every boy there walked towards Ralph, and then Rose slowly rose to her feet and walked towards him too, going along with Jack's plan. The boys kept walking towards Ralph until no-one was left in Jacks tribe but himself, Roger, a few little'uns and seven or eight other boys from Jack's choir.

"Fine, who needs ya?! Just go!" Jack was playing the part of the savage chief gone insane and doing it very well. Rose was almost terrified of him until she remembered that first time he held her, she could hardly believe this was the same boy. She went along with the crowd as they were about to turn away, that was until a tiny child let loose a horrible, high pitched scream. Everyone turned to look at what this child was so terrified of. A figure moved in the darkness, weaving almost gracefully through the trees, it was too large to be a pig, perhaps it was a boy? She turned to do a headcount on the boys but it was too late, all of them but three were charging towards the now-screaming figure. The reality hit of what they were doing when she saw Roger thrust his spear up into the air and bring it down abruptly and suddenly the screaming stopped. She moved slowly towards the huddle of boys, ignoring Jack's constant attempts to get her to come back, not to look. He grabbed her hand but she merely pulled him along too.

What she saw made her eyes fill immediately with tears, her hand to clench around Jack's and her knees to buckle. There, laying in a pool of his own blood, too many stab wounds in his back to count, was Simon. The strange boy, too innocent to possibly fit in. She dropped to her knees by his side. He lay on his stomach. She reached a hand out and touched his hair, as though to prove to herself that this was real, all the while hoping it was just a nightmare. She sobbed and was faintly aware of Jack pulling her up and guiding her away from the scene.

He pulled her into the cave he'd been sleeping in since he started his tribe, the largest one with the almost cube shaped interior. About thirty palm leaves were piled up in one corner to form a sort of bed, this was where he sat Rose down, he sat behind her, so she sat between his legs, crying into his chest. He shed tears as she sobbed, letting them fall into her hair. Each time that she would try to speak, he'd hold her tighter, listening as fragments of sentences broke from her mouth, it was heart breaking.

"Jack…please…" she'd managed to get out.

"Yes?"

"I want to leave here. Now. I don't want to see them." He knew all too well who 'them' were. He stood up slowly as her sobbing calmed and held her hand. Then, they ran. They ran right past all those boys, hand in hand, right through the forest, past a lake, past uncountable numbers of trees. Tears streaming from their eyes, legs burning, hearts racing, fingers delicately entwined. Thorns scratched their legs and arms but were ignored.

They didn't stop until they found themselves in a sort of tiny field, surrounded by flowers, the grass touched their knees, shaded by a canopy of leaves, allowing only a tiny amount of moonlight to filter in and leave spotlights that danced whenever an animal in the trees moves or a gentle breeze danced through the leaves.

"Here." Rose's voice was rough.

"Hmm?"

"Here. Can we stay here?" Jack nodded, entranced and not able to believe a place like this was sitting just under their noses. No vines littered the fragrant air here, allowing them to walk properly and easily. Once again, Jack pulled Rose into his arms, felt her weak arms wrap around him and was reminded of the fact that she hadn't eaten. He guided her body to the floor.

"Sit here for a moment, alright?" She nodded. There was no fire and there wouldn't be one without Piggy's glasses so he settled for looking for fruit in the nearby trees and bushes, in the end, he found a few coconuts, some berries and bananas. He cracked open the coconuts for her and allowed her to drink the coconut milk then put the fruits in her hand. He'd eaten a few of the berries that were left over then lay down in the long grass next to Rose. She took his hand and squeezed it gently then lay down next to him, pushing the grass in front of their faces down so she could see him.

"What do we do when they come looking for us?"

"Run, wait 'till they leave then come back here again?" His answer sounded like a question.

"That was Simon. They killed him." She said it more to herself than to the boy lying beside her. He gave a tiny nod. Rose rolled onto her side so she was as close as possible to Jack, he wrapped an arm around her and they lay that way until her breathing smoothed out and she fell asleep. Jack, however, stayed awake. He could see the stars through the gaps in the trees. They twinkled against the black velvet sky. He kept looking up, wondering if there was a heaven, feeling confident that if there were, Simon would be there. He forced a smile, Simon would be happy, perhaps he was looking down on him now, he smiled a real smile now, up at the sky where Simon may be. Jack fell asleep with the corners of his mouth up that night, and stayed that way until morning.

The next morning, as Rose's eyes flickered open, everything that happened the night before come flooding back and tears threatened again. She held them back and looked at the boy who owned the chest she was currently laying on. He was smiling, his face innocent as an angel despite the blood and paint that covered his face. She made a note to herself to have him wash it off, then a note to have a bath herself, when she noticed that the same blood and paint that was on his chest was now on her face and torso and arms. She was about to wake him but seeing him look so happy and dreamy made her change her mind, opting instead to lay here in the arms of her angel and listen to his quiet breath and tiny murmurs. Nothing he said made any sense, just random words here and there. She felt the hand on her back twitch slightly then his heart sped up along with his breathing.

"Mornin'" The heaviness of sleep was still in his voice.

"For all we know, it could be afternoon." She gave a slight smile as they both signed a mental contract that Simon wouldn't be mentioned. Not because they wanted to forget him or what happened to him, but for their sanity. They sat up and Rose's mind reminded her of the note she'd made earlier.

"Think there's a pond nearby? You badly need a bath."

"So do you." He stood first then helped her up.

They spent a while looking around until they found a pond with crystal clear water from a stream through a curtain of creepers near their field. Jack hadn't hesitated before stripping off and lowering himself into the freezing water, Rose didn't take much encouragement until she did the same. They sat in the water for only a moment before launching a water fight that both claimed the other started. They played until Jack decided they were clean enough and when he mentioned food, Rose suddenly agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hunting took far longer with just the two of them but eventually they managed to kill a small pig which they decided would be enough. They sat facing each other, a tiny fire between them, built in an area clear of the long grass that owned the clearing, cooking even tinier pieces of meat over it. The small amount of smoke was clearly visible against the clear blue sky.

"Jack?" He looked up from his scrap of meat. "What do we do now? Sooner or later we'll have to face them." He shrugged looking at the fire.

"We'll face that problem when we come to it." Rose nodded, not completely satisfied with his answer. She lifted her piece of meat from the fire and started eating, Jack copied moments later.

"Do you think we should join them again? Later on I mean." Rose asked timidly.

"I'm not sure...I haven't really thought about it." he admitted

"Don't get me wrong. If I never see their faces again, it'll be too soon but who knows how long we shall survive on our own?" Jack nodded thoughtfully

"We will go back, how about tomorrow?" now Rose nodded.

They ate their meat in silence, Jack looking at Rose in concern while she sat dreaming staring at the fire. Her eyes were unblinking. Once they had both finished, Jack cautiously approached her and sat next to her. Rose looked up at him before laying down, her head on his lap. She sighed as he ran his long fingers through her hair slowly.

The two of them sat like that for what must have been hours, short simple conversations Happened every so often, they watched the sky change colour and watched the sun go down and the stars come out. They remained that way until they were no longer in control of their eyelids.

"Rose, come on, we can sleep over there." Jack pointed to a wide tree. After a few minutes, it became apparent that Rose was already asleep. Jack sighed and lifted her by the shoulders off of himself before picking her up fully off the ground and carrying her towards the tree he had pointed towards. He sat down and leaned against the tree and placed Rose between his legs so she reclined against his stomach. He only had time to wrap his arms around her before he fell asleep himself.

* * *

The next morning, Jack woke to find Rose was no longer in his arms and in his tiredness, checked, as though perhaps he simply couldn't feel her. Once his unawakened mind confirmed she wasn't there, he looked around the little clearing and spotted her stretching up towards a piece of fruit growing quite high up in a tree. He grinned as an idea formed.

He stalked silently towards her, close to the ground and once he got close enough, he stood up a little, grabbed her by the knees from behind and stood up fully so she was sitting on one of his shoulders, she let out a little squeal of delight.

"You know, a simple 'good morning' would have been enough." She smiled down at him. She picked the piece of fruit she had been after plus another piece for Jack and he placed her down on the ground, taking the fruit. The smile she'd painted on disappeared and between her bites, she asked,

"When are we going back to them?" Jack knew Rose was looking for him to make the decision so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"After we eat and bathe?" She nodded as she finished her fruit then made her way to the little pond, followed by Jack. No longer bothered by modesty as much, they pulled off their clothes and lowered themselves into the water. Rose was scrubbing at her sunburnt shoulders when Jack told her to turn around and lean back. She did so hesitantly, still unsure in the water. He helped her dunk her hair into the water then gently massaged her scalp for her. It was enough to relax her and let her mind drift to nicer elements of the island, for one, she was looking up at a canopy of leaves blocking out the sun, transparent from the light, throwing their colour like paint around them. She looked at Jack when he lowered her head into the water, his look of concentration plastered over his face. She smiled but he didn't notice, too involved with the task before him.

"Done... I think." She giggled at the unsure tone of his voice.

"Thank you." She swivelled around and kissed him on the cheek. He stood and got out before helping her out too. They got dried and dressed and he took her hand.

"Ready?" She swallowed then nodded, allowing herself to be led through the trees towards the camp on the beach. All eyes were glues to them as they came out of the trees. Ralph came towards them.

"Jack...I-" Jack put a hand out, essentially telling him to shut it.

"We're coming back here. Maybe permanently." Rose scanned her eyes around, counting the faces she could see, glad everyone had joined one tribe again. A few of the boys were still filthy and wore their war-paint.

That day, a silent rule was made that Simon wasn't to be mentioned,for the same reasons Rose and Jack had created days before. Jack and Rose went to their old shelter, her bag and all three cloaks had been placed in there by one of the boys, they lay down together the same way they had that first night they didn't hate each other and for a while, everything was perfect for them.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Rose woke up alone to the sound of birds chirping. She rolled onto her side, trying to cling to the bliss of sleep before giving up and sitting up and crawling out of the shelter to look for the one person she trusted fully here. His blond hair made him easily spotted swimming alone. It was too early for anyone else to be awake she decided to surprise him. She walked to the edge of the water and removed her makeshift skirt and arm guards then strolled silently into the water, grabbing his attention. He smiled to her as she stood waist deep then he swam to her. Without asking permission, grabbed her waist and lifted her bridal style. She smiled through the fear as he swam them far out into the ocean. Noticing how deep the water was, she turned to him with a very clear message on her face. _Take me back! _He shook his head and instead swam in a little circle then stopped and let their bodies sink into the water. Rose tried to get back to the surface but Jack held her tight and released her legs, turning her face to his. He grinned at her and after a second she did the same and stopped struggling before Jack took them back to the surface to breath.

"remind me to kill you for that. Later." Jack smiled at the empty threat. Rose's legs were still free so she wrapped her ankles around Jacks moving ones to pull herself closer. He kissed her cheek gently and let his body float to the top, pulling hers up too And the moment would have been perfect if they had not floated closer to the island and Roger had not been awake.

A stone struck Jack's stomach causing him to lose the position he had been in and for him and Rose to drop splashing into the water, much to Roger's amusement.

"Goddammit Roger, what do you want?!" Jack screamed at him while holding Rose while she recovered from the shock. Roger just smirked. The anger got the best of Jack as he pulled himself and Rose from the water, stomped right up to Roger and punched him hard in the face. Roger's face contorted from amusement to blind fury and he sent a loud punch towards Jack's stomach Resulting in an all out fight. Their loud anger woke everyone from their sleep as they came to look for the source. Rose watched knee deep in water and chin deep in terror as their fight became more vicious and they ended up in the jungle. A few boys went to watch but Rose was frozen in spot.

A shout of agony woke her from her trance and sent her hurtling through the trees at what felt like the speed of light. She arrived at what appeared to be the knick of time. Roger lay on the ground bleeding severely as Jack towered above him, the picture of savagery, with a knife raised high above his head.

"Jack! No!" She ran toward him and knocked him off his feet. Slowly, the Jack she knew and loved entered his body once again.

"I- I-" he was racking his brain for an explanation "I'm sorry, Rose." She shook her head and leaned down to hiss him, showing she wasn't angry Then got off of him and turned to Roger.

"We better see to these wounds. You got any Jack? Wounds, I mean." Jack proudly showed he had barely a scratch on him. She smirked despite the circumstances. She turned her attention to the badly hurt boy next to her and kneeled down next to him as he looked up at her. Perhaps glare was a better word...

"We'll need some bandages." Roses suggestion got some words from Roger.

"I know where some are." Rose thought him delirious but humoured him.

"And where might they be?" Roger smirked through a burst lip and gestured towards the bandages around Rose's chest. Her eyes went wide and she raised her hand to slap him before lowering it, realising that she would be the one to clean whatever harm she did. She tore some of the extra material from her makeshift skirt and used it to wrap some of the worse injuries up, feeling awkward as she wrapped one around his upper thigh.

"Jack, give me a hand." She said as she pulled Roger's arm around her shoulders, he did the same and together they pulled the boy to his bruised feet. He groaned as he rose, getting a laugh from Jack.

"I'll get you back for this. I swear." The boy muttered as they reached camp. Jack laughed it off but Rose became concerned.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose woke in Jack's arms, it was still night. It was pitch black, so dark she couldn't see the boy infront of her. The only ways she knew he was there was the feeling of warm arms around her, the warm chest her head lay on and the long, hot breaths that fanned over her face gently every few seconds. She stayed absolutely still to keep from disturbing him. After a while, her eyes adjusted to the point that she could see. She looked at Jack and smiled at the innocent look on his face. He was nothing short of adorable. She curled into his chest a little more and closed her eyes again, hoping for sleep she knew wouldn't come. She was too worried. Roger wasn't the type to make a threat he didn't intend on keeping. He was going to do something awful to Jack, she knew it. Subconsciously, she held him ever so slightly tighter. She promised herself nothing would happen to her Jack. Not while she lived. If Roger wanted to hurt him, well, he'd have to go through her first. And she had no mercy for him.


	6. Chapter 6

Footsteps were heard as Rose's eyes bolted open and her hand flew for her knife, ready to protect Jack if need be. The footsteps got closer, she gripped the knife. Someone's long legs appeared, she pulled out her knife. A face appeared, Roger's face. She looked at him defiantly, he didn't see in the dark. His left hand held a spear. She took it as a challenge. She sprung at him, fast. He screamed as her knife came down on his arm then again as he hit the ground. She pressed the knife against his neck. Boys had slowly come to find the source of the noise.

"Drop the spear. Drop it!" He let go of the spear and pushed it with his middle finger away. "What were you doing? Like I have to ask! You were going to hurt Jack. Get your revenge. Weren't you?!"

"I- I- I was..."

"What?!" She pressed harder on the blade.

"Rose..." Jacks warm hands tried to pull her up, off the terrified boy.

"This is how it feels to be threatened, Roger. What it feels like to have a knife press into your skin. Like you did to the other poor boys. If you harm so much as a fly, by accident or otherwise, I swear on my own grave, I will make you regret it." She pressed slightly harder, drawing a little blood. Roger went pure white before she lifted the blade and put it back in it's rightful place before getting up. She glared at him for a moment before putting her hand out for him to use to get up. He took it and pulled himself up. "And if you ever threaten Jack or anyone else for that matter, I will make your life a living hell." He nodded and left.

"What was that all about?" Jack asked her the question everyone had on their mind.

"He was the one sneaking around with a spear, peeking into our shelter. I defended us." Jack smirked.


	7. Chapter 7

Rose sat in Jack's arms by the fire in the complete darkness, the orange and yellow light touching random surfaces. They paid no attention to the rest of the boys, or Roger who sat isolated, away from the glares he received from every one.

"Do you think he'll be alright? Mentally? How long can a person stand to be alone?" Rose asked.

"He was never quite all there to begin with. This can't make him any worse."

"Do you think I went overboard?" Jack laughed at her.

"No. Just...don't be angry at me, please?" She giggled, ignoring Roger's look. He kissed her cheek once then stood, taking one of her hands with him.

"Time for bed already?" He nodded. "Alright, but I better get a lullaby." He nodded, smirking at her.

* * *

The next morning, as the pair woke up, they didn't fail to notice the severe lack of bodies on the beach.

"Ralph! Where is everyone?!" Rose shouted from halfway across the beach. He looked at her with a stressed out look on his face.

"Roger stormed off last night. Most of the older kids followed. I think he's making another separate tribe." Jack cringed when he heard this, he knew this was more or less what he had done and he also knew that with Roger as a chief...how could anyone live safely?

"Jack, I don't want you to hunt anymore. I won't have him hurt you. Ralph, from now on, I will hunt alone."

"No. Nobody will go into the forest at all. There is fruit in the bushes and trees just there, we can bathe in the sea and drink the milk from the coconuts. Until we get this sorted, I want everyone safe." The pair nodded, understanding completely

* * *

That night, Rose lay awake in Jack's arms as he slept. Slowly, she moved one of his arms from her waist then the other from her shoulder and stood. How could she sleep when Jack was in constant danger? How could she live with knowing she had done nothing to help him? She shook her head as she left the camp on the beach and began her search in the forest for the one boy she truly hated, spear held firmly in her hand.

**Yup, it's short, I know. Sorry**


	8. Chapter 8

"Roger!" She screamed out, in the middle of the island. She'd searched for a good hour and a half with no sign of the boy she was looking for. "Show yourself, coward!" All at once, screaming, painted figures attacked her, never hurting her, just using their spears as a way to keep her still. When she was secured and unable to move without spears stabbing her, Roger appeared.

"What do you want?"

"What are you doing?! Leaving the group! I've come to make sure you won't hurt J- anyone." He smirked.

"I won't hurt Jack or anyone for that matter."

"We-" He cut her off.

"If you do exactly as I tell you." She glared for a moment, waiting for him to continue. "Leave Jack, join my tribe and be mine." Her jaw dropped and her eyes popped.

"Leave the group and be your girlfriend? Or else what?"

"My tribe has more members than the group does now. It would be all too easy to attack." She bit her lip. The only way to save them was to sacrifice herself. Leave Jack and herself heartbroken or everyone badly injured or worse. She shut her eyes as they filled with tears.

"Well?!" Roger. She opened her tear filled eyes and looked at him.

"Why would you want me to be yours in the first place?"

"Simple. If I have you, Jack doesn't." Naturally, she thought.

"Fine. Can I go say bye first though?" He nodded and the rest of the tribe put their spears down, allowing her to start walking towards the camp.

* * *

It was still night when she got there, with three members of the tribe watching her every movement. When she got back, she went into Jack and her's shelter. His sleeping form breathing in and out so gently, the angelic expression on his face and the knowledge that she would be hurting him brought tears to her eyes once more.

She knelt by his head and ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his lips gently. She put one of the cloaks over him, leaving one arm out, in his hand, she placed her silver anklet. She closed his fist around it then stood up.

"I love you, Jack." She whispered as she left the shelter. She made her way to the three members and allowed herself to be led through the forest.

"_I love you,_ Jack!" They mocked her all the way to a large cave in the middle of the forest. When they arrived, she noticed Roger examining her, analyzing every movement.

"Rose. Give Maurice your weapons and then go into the cave and go to sleep." Heartbroken, too upset to care what was going on, Rose simply did as she was told.

She flopped down on the cave ground, not even caring about the bruises and scrapes she would have sustained.

"Jack...I'm sorry." She whispered as she fell asleep, grateful for the relief of sleep after such heartache.

* * *

"So, Chief Roger, what exactly do you plan on doing with her? I mean, I get the whole, get his girl and make Jack jealous thing, but what then?" Maurice was bugging Roger, trying to get the entire plan.

"Turn Jack against her, make them fight and watch her try to decide wither to kill him or let him kill her." Maurice stared at Roger, wide eyed.

"That's horrible Roger!"

"Yes...that's kind of the idea, Maurice." Maurice put his head down to face the ground, ashamed. "Oh, what is the matter?!" Maurice flinched slightly before finding the courage to speak.

"I feel guilty..." Roger shook his head and left the boy on his own.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose lay awake in the cave, aware even in the pitch blackness of night of the arm swung around her. For a moment, she pretended it was Jack and curled herself into it but a chuckle made her head bolt up.

"In need of a little comfort?" Roger's sly voice was heard.

"I'm going outside for some fresh air." He just chuckled again and turned over onto his side as she stood.

She walked outside to an area with no canopy of trees and let the freezing air touch her skin. She looked to the sky and let tears drip from her eyes while vowing never to allow Roger to see her cry, never let him see how much he was upsetting her.

Her knees buckled and she was suddenly on the ground. She looked up at the sky still, searching for a wishing star in a starless sky.

"Are you alright?" A sweet voice came from behind her. She turned around to look at whoever it was.

"Maurice?" He nodded "Not really...I can't believe I...God! I just want Jack!" Sobs littered her speech. He looked as upset as she was and came over to her and wrapped her in a hug. Maurice was a sweet boy if a little easy to lead astray.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I told him, I did! I said this was cruel and bad and evil! He doesn't care!" Now Maurice was in tears.

* * *

On the other side of the island, more tears were being shed from a silent boy with blonde hair. What were they doing to her? Was she alright? Jack's thoughts continued all night, he'd been warned by Ralph not to go off during the night the way she had, his weapons had been taken from him in an effort to discourage rebellion. He clenched his fist around the little silver anklet in his hand before loosening it and examining the piece of jewellery. He sat up and undid the anklet and put it on his wrist, vowing to have it back on her thin, pale ankle. Soon.

* * *

The next morning, Roger woke alone and wondered where his latest toy was. He stood and looked around the cave at his sleeping tribe. Maurice was missing as well. Sudden rage consumed him as he lifted his spear and left the cave, staring at the two curled up figures in the grass. He delivered a swift, hard kick to the male's back. He woke with a shout that woke Rose.

"Maurice, Maurice, what's the matter?!" Then she noticed Roger. She glared at him.

"The hell do you think you were doing?!" He screamed at them.

"Well I was hardly gunna lay in your arms!" Rose stood as she shouted at him, gaining the attention of the newly awakened tribe. The rage was practically visible in Roger's eyes. Had innocence ever shone there? Had wonder ever taken his figured? Rose couldn't imagine anything but hate, rage, awful thoughts contorting his features, invading his eyes.

"You will do what I tell you!" He slapped her across the face hard, forcing her head in the opposite direction. She retaliated on instinct, throwing her fist at his face. It was caught by Maurice.

"Rose, don't." He told her.

"Why the hell not?! He deserves this and more!"

"Rose." He pulled her in through innocent eyes filling with tears. She relaxed her arms and the fist he was holding and allowed him to pull her into the cave, past their spectators to the very back of the cave where they sat, Maurice still simply holding Rose. He'd be punished for that but it didn't matter, he knew that had Rose punched him, Roger would have gone too far. Such a boy with a spear was never a good combination.

* * *

"So you're just going to leave her?!" Jack screamed, a white pink conch gripped dangerously hard in his grasp.

"Jack, be realistic. There's no way to get her back! Roger's tribe is too strong. With Roger as chief, there's a very good chance we'd be killed before we even got there!" Ralph argued with him.

"We can't just leave her!"

"Jack! We have no choice!" Ralph was way beyond exasperated with the determined boy. "I won't risk everyone's safety."

"Then I'll go alone. I'll do anything." A warning flashed through Ralph's eyes.

"Jack, drop this. I'd love to have her back here to. I'd also love to have Maurice, Bill, Henry and even Roger back but I can't get them back. She made a choice to join that tribe."

"I don't think she decided to join! They took her. They've kidnapped her."

"Jack! You have her anklet. She left it here with you! She wasn't kidnapped if she had the time to do that. She left _willingly_!" Jack shook his head at Ralph before finally handing the conch to Piggy who had been itching to get his hands on it.

"I agree with Jack." Jack's head bolted up. "I don't think Rose would leave this group without him. Roger definitely has something to do with it. Rose may be in trouble. We're going to have to do something." Ralph took the conch when it was handed to him.

"Let's have a vote. Who wants to rescue Rose and all unwilling members of Roger's tribe?" Every hand flew up. Ralph sighed, a slight smile playing on his lips at how attached everyone had grown to the feisty girl who had pretended to be a shy, quiet, strange boy. "Fine, today and tonight we will prepare and tomorrow early morning, we will go and get them." A cheer went through the group as they sped off to gather supplies.

Jack was the only one left in the meeting place. He lifted an arm and ran a finger along the plain silver chain. He smiled as he noticed little flaws, one link had broken and been bent back into shape to prevent the chain being broken. No charms were linked onto it, but it still didn't seem plain. He dropped his wrist and went to get his knife. The knife he planned on stabbing Roger with.

* * *

With the other tribe, Rose sat with Roger in the cave while the other boys were hunting. She faced the opposite direction to wherever Roger was. She almost screamed every time fingers would slip gently over her. Caressing her neck, her shoulder, her back.

"Still awaiting your knight in shining armour, Cinderella?" She turned to face him.

"I don't need to be rescued. You just have me in one hell of a position." Then she turned away from her again, ignoring his chuckle. It reminded her of the night with Jack weeks ago. The night he teased her about her crying, the following night when he held her. She wouldn't cry here though, not where he could see.

"Sure, Rose whatever." He was alarmingly close his chin rested on the shoulder, peering around her neck up at her. He smirked as one of his hands reached her hair and he gripped it. He raised his head from it's spot on her shoulder and tugged her hair hard, forcing her head back, hurting her neck but she refused to cry out. Not even as she spotted his knife, not as he rested it on the back of her neck, she prepared for the pain but it never came. She sat up, no longer feeling held down before she realised why.

In Roger's hand, he held her long, black curls. She touched the back of her hair and screamed. It was as short as a boy's! Her long side fringe covered one eye.

"What the hell was that for?!" He shrugged.

"Felt like it." He threw the hair out the front of the cave then he left, leaving a shaking, rage filled girl behind him.

* * *

**Hi! If you wanna know what her hair looks like now, go to my profile, I'll post a link!**


	10. Chapter 10

Rose sat in the cave, shaking with fear and worry as Maurice's agony filled shouts vibrated off every surface. She ached to go, comfort him and take the punishment for him but she knew doing so would only result in a worse punishment for him. Another scream made her question whether she was doing the right thing and another made her realise she wasn't. She bolted up and run for the boy. He was held by two larger boys, one on each arm, as Roger kicked, punched, slapped him. Bruises were forming all over the younger boy.

"Roger! What do you think you are doing?!" Pure, blind fury rushed through the girl as she stood there, only heightened when Roger didn't answer. He simply laughed. That was the last straw. She ran for him, knocking him down, fists flying over his head and back. He threw her off, a shout from her attracted every pair of eyes. He landed a punch to her jaw and she got a kick to his leg, throwing him off balance. She dropped down and furiously flung punches at him until he grabbed both arms and stood, rendering her unable to do anything. Until she remembered she had legs. She kicked him now. He ignored her as he dragged her, barely able to hold her balance, towards the cave where he swung her in. She spun slightly before tripping and falling onto the ground.

"What was that all about?!" He towered above her. She stood up, annoyed that he was taller than her.

"You were hurting Maurice." She accused. "I came to help him. And leave you with a few marks." He didn't seem angry, he was still smirking that stupid smirk. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" He obviously knew what she was talking about, as his smirk grew.

"That stupid smirk! Get rid of it or I'll slap it off!" He grabbed her wrists and transferred one to the other hand, so both were in one of his hands. He held them above her head.

"Without your weapons, you're still just some little spoiled, bratty girl." Her enraged eyes frightened him, but he didn't show it, he just showed her his smirk again. Years of ballet showed themselves as she kicked the side of his head. He was startled but the lack of power left him unhurt. She tried again, he used his spare hand and grabbed her by the ankle. He held it at his hip before noticing something missing.

"Loose your anklet?"

"None of your business."

"Yes it is. I told you, when you agreed to my deal, you are mine. Now where is the anklet." Sensing a new way to rebel, Rose grinned.

"None of your business." She repeated lightheartedly, practically singing. Keeping him entertained and distracted from Maurice.

"Tell me!" He forced her against the wall of the cave, pushing himself against her to prevent her escape. She blushed at how close he was but continued taunting him.

"No." She replied simply. He let go of her ankle and grabbed her by the neck.

"I am your chief and you belong to me. Now tell me. Where. Is. The. Anklet."

"Why does this matter so much to you? And by the way, I'm not yours. I'm not just some possession."

"It doesn't matter!"

"Obviously it does." She smirked now. He lifted her arms higher and used all his strength to lift her an inch from the ground by her wrists, abandoning his hold on her neck. Now that her legs were free, she kneed him in the stomach, making him relent his hold on her. She was tempted to make a run for it, but Maurice was still held by the two boys and she didn't like the idea of leaving him here.

"Boys!" Roger wheezed. The two holding Maurice looked at him. "Let him go, grab her instead." Rose only glared at them as they dropped the weak, badly injured boy to the ground. "You! Tie him up. I don't want him running off." Someone picked him up and tied his ankles, knees and wrists together using vines. Two boy came towards her, she glared at them until she saw the fear in their eyes. She swapped the glare for a forgiving glance. She swore she saw a thankful look in their eyes. She was held by the arms, held in a crouch, close to the ground with her back to the sky. She didn't see it when Roger came closer, didn't realise what he was doing as he took up his spear, didn't notice as he got closer.

A sharp pain assaulted her as she struggled against the boys who held held down. The pain slid down from her left shoulder blade to her right hip. Blood dripped over her dirty skin, painted her back crimson. She refused to cry out. Next he stood at her side and slapped her back with his spear hard, like a teacher with a cane. She allowed a lone whimper to escape. Another slap, she whimpered again, Roger laughed. Another, she cried out, Roger was in hysterical, manic laughter. Another, she screamed. Another and another, tears ran down her face as she begged him to stop. End this torture.

"Roger! Roger! Stop! Please! Just..." Her speech was cut off as another smack to her back left her unable to speak.

"Who do you belong to?" One last kick of rebellion made her keep silent and when he came down to her level, she spat at him. He wiped the saliva from his face them slapped her with his spear, leaving her own blood from her back over her face. "You are causing more trouble than you are worth. If you have a sense of self preservation, you will do as I say." He grabbed her already sore jaw. "Understand?" She planned on staying silent but as his grip stengthened, she broke.

"Yes." She whispered. She didn't need to look to know he was smiling. He let his hand drift from her jaw to the red line on her face he had made, his fingers slid across it then up to her short hair. The hair he had cut. His fingers lifted from her skin.

"Take her to the cave. Leave someone to watch her while we hunt. And make sure Maurice is tied up tight." She was shoved into the cave she had spent the majority of her time in since joining the tribe. Maurice was thrown into the cave with her, she caught him, wincing as the skin on her back was pulled, shedding more of her blood.

"Rose, why did you do that?! He's hurt you now!" She shook her head. "If you had just left it, he would have finished with me and that would have been it, but now look at you!"

"Maurice. I wasn't about to let him take everything out on you." She held him a while longer before sitting down, pulling him down so they both knelt. "Want me to untie you?"

"No! He'd only get angry. We'd both be beaten to within an inch of our lives! Just leave it!" She nodded, silently angry about the fear this boy had.

"We'll get out of this, Maurice. I promise. I won't let him hurt anyone any more."

"Rose, please just drop it. Just leave it. Stop causing trouble. It'll only get you in trouble." She nodded and sat back, holding her arms out for Maurice to lay in. The injured boy let himself fall into her arms, between her legs to lay against her torso.

"Go to sleep Maurice, I can see the bags under your eyes from a mile away." He sighed, unable to deny. She toyed with the idea of sitting against something, but the thought of pressing her badly wounded back against something was enough to make her grit her teeth and shiver. Now she made another vow to herself. She would get the boy in her arms away from here, get him and the others to safety, get herself healed up, then make Roger feel the pain she just did. Make him cry, perhaps. Make him beg her to stop, she wouldn't. She would keep cutting, beating, punching, until his heart stopped. She grinned at the thought of a bloody, dead Roger at her feet. Perhaps she wouldn't kill him. Perhaps she could hurt him badly then take him as a slave?

The sleeping boy in her arms seized up, having a nightmare. She would have woken him but he relaxed suddenly and mumbled quietly in his sleep. Something about him reminded her of her little brother. He was only five when she last saw him, he would sit the way she held Maurice every morning. They sat like that on the floor while she reclined against the couch. Then father would come into the living room and step over them to sit on the big soft seat in the corner and switch on the television. A while later they would go and eat breakfast.

For the first time in weeks, Rose missed home.


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of the day, Jack and Ralph prepared the small army of boys they had for the mission they were about to embark on.

"Now, we're going to have to be silent. When we find them, we'll get Rose then ask which boys want to come back, then we'll leave. There and back as quickly as possible. No dilly dallying, no fear and no noise. Got it?" Jack stood, proud of his sudden power. Nods were exchanged. "And another thing, we ought to paint ourselves to blend in with the trees. For safety."

"Jack, that doesn't sound like a good idea." Ralph told him, weary.

"It will be safer. This way if he does wake up, he may not notice us." Ralph went to say something but that leadership of Jack's quietened him. "Ralph, Sam, Eric, follow me."

The four boys set off, lead by Jack to make black and green and brown face paint that was nothing more than ash, mud and some sort of plant leaves then they went back and Jack and Ralph began the process of painting the boys well enough to camouflage them. There were no intricate patterns, just great big splodges of colour over their faces and torsos. Once again, Jack let his fingers slide over the anklet he had on his wrist. He'd left his hand and wrist unpainted to keep it as silver and clear as possible until it was back on Rose's ankle.

"Jack, we're ready." Jack lifted his head to peer at the boy he had bullied, Piggy. He nodded. "Well, the ones who are going with you are, I'm staying here, I'd be no use on this sort of mission on account of-" Jack cut him off.

"Your asthma. I get it. You've said it plenty of times." He stood and as he did, Piggy took a step back. For the first time, he noticed the fear in Piggy's eyes. "What're you scared of? We're the ones going to take the tribe of an insane sadist." Piggy put his head down, expecting Jack would let it go. He didn't. "Well?"

"You."

"Huh?"

"You. I'm scared of you!" Piggy blurted out. Jack looked at him strangely. "Well, since we got here, nobody has been particularly nice to me, but you always have this look in your eyes, like you genuinely want to kill me..." Piggy trailed off, afraid he had said too much. Jack nodded, confused by this new fact.

"Jack! We're making spears, aren't you going to make one?."

"Coming, Ralph!" He started to jog away from the fat boy and towards Ralph. He stopped and turned towards Piggy again. "See ya'." This, in Jack's mind, was a way of telling Piggy to not be afraid, to simply bear what he said, deal with the bruises he left, put up with the abuse. In piggy's mind though, it was a threat.

* * *

Few things stuck in Rose's mind, not many things lingered there. But this moment would be imprinted on her brain, permanently staining her mind, forever there. She sat by the fire, facing to the side while careful fingers brushed over her skin. She was tense despite the soothing water washing her wound. But how could she not be? These graceful fingers had blood over them only moments before, her blood. These fingers belonged to Roger. He cleaned her wound, the one he himself had inflicted as though she were his child. She suspected he felt guilty but soon brushed the thought away. Roger was sick, Roger was dangerous, Roger felt no guilt. He was a monster in every sense of the word. Sharp agony rushed through her and caused her to scream out in pain.

"What?!" Roger sounded angry. She tried to tell herself to rebel, but this pain told her to simply do what was expected of her.

"It hurts." He stayed silent and continued to wash the wound, Rose bit her lip to prevent her from crying, she felt blood drip from her lip, the rusty taste spilling over her tongue. He finally lifted his fingers from her skin. She turned to look at him, suddenly frightened about the grin on his lips. She could do nothing as he leaned closer and kissed her bottom lip. Her eyes went wide as a tongue swiped across her lip. Then he pulled back, her blood on his lip. She was completely gob-smacked as he slowly stood, still grinning at her and held a hand out for her to pull herself up with. She took it and allowed him to pull her towards the cave, still holding her hand. For a while, she felt this boy could be innocent and sweet but as they entered the cave, she was confident he was anything but. It just so happened that a small boy was laying in 'his' place, he had kicked him out of it, waking the boy up in tears. She wrenched her hand away from his and lay down on the other side of the cave. He followed her and lay next to her.

"Why are you so insistant right now?" He smirked and shrugged. He licked her blood from his lip. She stared wide eyed before she turned over and lay on her other side, facing the cave wall. She closed her eyes and attempted to sleep until she felt a warm arms slide over her waist and pull her towards an equally warm body. She tried to ignore him until another arm slid beneather her neck to cushion her head.

"Roger...what are you doing?"

"Nothin'"

"Oh, please, this is not 'nothin'' Now either tell me what you are doing then let go, or just let go."

"Alright, I'm holding you." He still didn't let go.

"Why?"

"Because I feel like it. And don't tell me to let go. I could squeeze you tighter, let that cut on your back do my work for me." She tensed, he wouldn't dare, would he? she mentally kicked herself, of course he would, he was Roger.


	12. Chapter 12

One by one, Ralph's group woke members of Roger's tribe and sent them towards the beach. They had untied Maurice and let him limp his way there, now only on figure remained, Roger's back was visable to the boys as Jack frantically looked for Rose.

"Jack!" Sam and Eric whisper shouted at him. "We-"

"Found-"

"Her!" Jack rushed to where the twins stood and almost gagged at the sight infront of him as he stood at Roger's back. Rose, his Rose, lay in his arms, curled into his chest, lips bleeding slightly, her hair had been cut short. Ralph came towards them. Jack was the first to lean down and nudge Rose. She woke the first time he tried.

"Jack?" He nodded. "I can promise you this isn't what it looks like!" Jack smile, showing he hadn't thought what she had.

"We're here to rescue you. The rest of them are already back at the beach." Rose looked at the boy infront of her, noting that she had turned around to face him.

"If I get up, he'll wake up."

"It's alright, we'll get him if he does. Just get up."

"Jack, I refuse to put you in danger. If it means I have to stay here with him for a while, well, I'll do it." Despiration entered Jack's expression. "Don't worry, though. I will escape. It'll be fine. I promise. Now go. Before he wakes up."

"Rose..."

"Go. I'll see you soon. I promise." Jack shook his head, once more before she turned to Ralph, same and Eric. "Drag him if you have to."

"Come on, Jack." Ralph grabbed the boy by the shoulder.

"I won't leave her here with him." Ralph looked him in the eye.

"Have you any idea what he'll do to her if he wakes up while she's trying to escape?" Jack looked down and then at Rose, he knelt down and touched her face.

"I'll come back for you soon. I promise."

"Don't worry, just go." Ralph grabbed his arm and pulled him away. Rose immediately regret what she had just done as her tears slid down her face and soaked into the arm of such a boy. What had she done?


	13. Chapter 13

Rose woke to the sound of someones slow heartbeat and in the faze of sleep, she nuzzled the chest she was facing. She sighed, comfortable, before a snicker had her eyes bolting open. She came face to face with a dirty chest, she slowly slid her eyes up until a sinister, slightly angry face filled her vision.

"Comfy?" asked Roger. She shrunk back slightly, unsure of how he would react to his tribe being gone. He snickered once more. "I wonder where my tribe has gone...run away...been rescued... Doesn't matter. You won't leave, not ever. Will you, Rose?" She shook her head no. "Good." Then he stood, strangely gentle when he released her from his grasp. She continued to lay there. He went outside and turned to her.

"Aren't you coming?" She looked at him strangely before getting up and walking to his side.

"Where are we going?"

"Bathing pool." She froze. Bathe...with Roger?! Her mind shifted to the times she had spent there with Jack. Innocent water fights splashing, slight blushes. They arrived after a few moments. Roger had no hesitation before jumping into the pool, wearing what was left of his underwear. Rose however, stood at the side blushing slightly. She removed her makeshift skirt and arm guards and got in wearing her bandage and underwear, wincing as the water licked the wound on her back. She washed her now short hair, practically in tears at the lack of curls. Her hair had been a sort of safety blanket.

* * *

_Memory_

_Rose dragged her feet to her school, aware of what would happen when she got there. Rumours had started the day before, apparently she had pushed past some girl and now, said girl wanted to fight her. Not being the violent type, more the weak and frightened type, Rose had ducked through the gate, hiding behind her dark curls._

_"There she is!" was all she heard before thousands of fists punched her, agony ripping through her with every new bruise received. After a while, the punches stopped, the pain remained and worsened. _

_That night, Rose lay in bed, letting her tears soak into her hair, her swollen eyes and bruised jaw hidden by those dark locks. _

* * *

Rose had gotten out first, let herself dry while watching Roger swim, appearing to be an innocent schoolboy. That constant rage and frightening look in his eyes were not present when he was floating along the surface with his eyes closed and an easy smile on his lips. Rose put on her skirt then sat on the ground to watch him.

"You better still be there when I open my eyes." He was firm and strict when he told her this.

"I will." She promised, unsure if she actually meant it, unsure why she hadn't left yet.

After a while, Roger got out, his body paint completely gone, tanned skin significantly lighter with the dirt gone.

"Go back to the cave. Don't move from there, don't talk to anyone, don't go anywhere else. I'll be there soon with meat." Rose nodded and stood, wandering mindlessly towards the cave. When she got there, she sat and waited.

* * *

Roger pushed a curtain of leaves away from his path with his spear. He followed the trail slowly, taking his time, at least that's what he told himself. Roger was far from the best hunter. He could barely track a pig.

"Should'a brought Rose. Keep an eye on her." His mind wandered to the girl in the cave. Waiting for him.

He stepped over the roots of a large tree. _Why did I have her join the tribe? Why did I tell her to be mine? _He told himself it was so she would no longer be Jack's, but in reality, he simply wanted the pleasure of telling people that the only girl on the island was his. Was waiting for him. He smiled at the thought of her. Her now short hair. _Why'd I do that? I miss the long curls..._ He leapt at the sound of trotting nearby, digging his spear down hard at the struggling pink thing. Then he hefted it up, over his shoulder and started back to the cave, eager to see his girl once again. _His girl. His._

* * *

Rose jumped slightly as a figure came into view. A blond haired figure. Jack.

"Jack! What are you doing here? He'll catch you! You'd better leave!" Jack turned and began to run, Rose's hand in his, held tightly. The two ran, ignoring the pain in their legs and feet, their erratic breathing. They didn't slow until the soft sand was beneath their feet. As they came into view of the rest of the group, a cheer was heard. They came to a stop as the group swarmed them, glad to have everyone back. Well, almost everyone...

* * *

Meanwhile, Roger struggled through the plants and unforgiving terrain carrying a pig over one shoulder and a spear in the other hand. As he reached the outside, he dropped the pig on the ground and proceeded to gut it.

"Rose!" He called, his eyes still trained on the bloody corpse before him, pulling this and that away using his hands, silently cursing himself for allowing Maurice to keep a hold of Rose's knife. When she didn't respond, He called out louder.

"Rose!" No answer. He stood and stalked towards the cave. Slowly, the reality dawned on him. She was gone, left him like everyone else. Like everyone he had known. _You'd think I'd be used to this by now. _Despite his best efforts, one tear slid down his face, replaced by a loud scream of rage.


	14. Chapter 14

Delightfully dull...if asked, this is how Rose would have described life now. She'd been back at the camp for three days now and of course she was content and safe but the ever present threat that Roger was lurking somewhere close, waiting for the moment to attack...that left her terrified.

Jack fiddled with Rose's fingers as she reclined carefully, ever mind full of the wound on her back, against his chest.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?" She was barely awake, comfortable and warm, making answering difficult.

"What did Roger do to you? Other than the obvious." He growled out the last sentence.

"Nothing, actually." She felt the need to hide the time he had washed the wound he himself had inflicted. It seemed so private, intimate. It would only lead Jack to do something that he would later regret.

"Be honest, Rose."

"I am being honest. Nothing else." She turned her neck at an angle to look at him.

"Rose, I can see you hiding something. Just tell me, I won't be mad."

"Jack, can we drop this?"

"So there is something!?" He exclaimed.

"Jack! No! There's nothing else! Why won't you trust me?"

"Why don't you trust _me_? Rose, you can tell me anything! What did he do?!" He sounded firm, asking her loud and strong. She shook her head, bringing forth rage in Jack's eyes. She stood carefully, wincing as the sensitive skin on her back pulled and began bleeding. She stomped out of the shelter, into the vision of the other boys on the beach.

"Rose! Where are you going?! What is it?! What did he do?!" Jack screamed as he strided angrily towards her.

"He kissed me!" Shock plastered over Jack's face like a slap. "And I'm going to have a bath. I'll see you in a while." Jack grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk away. He simply pulled her to a tree and lifted her to sit her on a low branch. He let go of her wrist and knelt down. He lifted her ankle and fastened the thin silver chain around her ankle. He looked up at her.

"I'm sorry." The look he gave her, tears in his eyes, made her features soften. She nodded once and allowed her lips to be captured by Jack's.

* * *

That night, Rose lay in Jack's arms as his sleepy, slow breaths slid over her neck and she couldn't help but think of that kiss. His soft lips, slight sobs barely breaking through, tears in his eyes and couldn't help but smile. The memory of Roger's kiss entered her mind and she shivered. What business did he have kissing her anyway? To do something so intimate with someone you were holding captive, it's disgusting. She pushed herself closer to Jack and closed her eyes, ignoring the visions of a savage coming closer to her, leaving scars over her body, inflicting wounds with a blood covered spear, kissing and licking the blood from her lips.


	15. Chapter 15

Rose awoke in the most pleasant way she could imagine. Lips pressed against her forehead, arms wrapped around her waist and the knowledge that the arms and lips belonged to someone she adored and trusted with everything she had. She opened her eyes and was met by a smile.

"Morning." Said Jack, a little grin over his lips. She pushed herself closer to him. "Rose. There's something I should tell you." She looked up at him again.

He sighed but continued to smile a little.

"I don't want you hunting anymore. It's too dangerous." Rose nodded, slightly irritated that he would make out that she was too weak to take care of herself but also slightly relieved to have this excuse not to be anywhere near..._him_.

"Come on, Ralph and a couple of the guys went and collected fruit for breakfast. Rose grinned as they walked to the crowd of boys devouring a mountain of fruit, hands clasped tightly together.

The rest of the day was spent with Rose and Jack never leaving each other's side. The daytimes were easy and almost fun, but the nights...she'd shake with fear at each noise, each movement and everything she couldn't easily identify as a plant or another child. She always had to be in Jack's arms and she always had to hide her face in his neck. But still, she felt unsafe. As though eyes watched her. A hand just waiting to attack.

* * *

Roger sat alone, high in a tree, watching Ralph's group go about their day. Rose and Jack...his face contorted into an expression of distaste. They walked around hand in hand, all lovey dovey. It made him sick. He watched them as they sat down to eat the meagre meal they had gathered. Fruits and berries. A cynical laugh broke through his lips. He'd have revenge. And he would have it soon.

He dropped from the tree and crouched in the plants. He stayed there all day. Waiting.

Then, in the dark of the night, he launched his plan. Grasping his spear, he stalked around the shelter belonging to Rose and Jack. He peeked through the little gaps between the leaves, then drew back his spear and threw it down through the wall of leaves, concealed in the forest as a scream of pain echoed through the island. Jack's.

* * *

She tried to stop the blood flow, she tried to keep talking calmly to him, she tried to reassure the gathering boys that everything would be fine. But she couldn't. It took Maurice and Ralph dragging her away from his lifeless body to make her understand that there was no way to fix this. Hours of crying, hours of screaming, hours of sheer agony later, she sat at the fire with the other boys, every one simply staring at the fire. Not talking, not moving, barely breathing.

"It was Roger. Wasn't it?" She spoke up, completely emotionless. Ralph gave a nod. "Then I will make him pay."

"Rose..."

"No. I need this. I will make him scream, cry, and beg for mercy. I warned him. If he ever hurt Jack or anyone, I would make him regret it. Now I will." She stood up and went to a shelter. Not the one she shared with Jack. She knew it would have been too much. She didn't know what they did with the body and she didn't want to know, she just wanted to get revenge for herself and for Jack.

She went to sleep early that night and the moment she woke up, surrounded by sleeping boys, she went to work. Jack had saved some white and red clay, as well as a coconut shell filled with black and green paints, and she had taken his spear. It seemed only right to kill Roger with this spear rather than her own. This was for Jack.

Rummaging through her bag, she took out a pair of ankle length black leggings and put them on in place of her skirt. Next, she drew her design, oddly intricate, over her face, torso, arms and legs using the black paint and white clay. She removed her anklet and put it in her bag then set out into the forest, determined.


End file.
